TEXT: Job 1, 42

SUBJECT: Theodicy

Why do bad things happen to good people?

If there's a harder problem to solve than this one, I don't know what it is. Its difficulties are both philosophical and personal. If God is both good and powerful, you'd expect Him to keep bad things from happening to good people. If He can, but doesn't, He is not good. If He wants to, but can't, He is not powerful.

How do you answer that? There are five possible answers, it seems to me. Each one is suggested in the Book of Job. And four of them are soundly refuted. Let's go through them one-by-one, with the prayer that God would give us the light to understand what we can and the grace to accept what we can't

BAD THINGS HAPPEN TO GOOD PEOPLE BECAUSE...THERE ARE NO GOOD PEOPLE.

Many Reformed believers answer this way. We know that God is both sovereign and just. Thus, if men suffer, it must be because of their sins. Maybe they're no worse than others, but still, they're sinners. The holiest man--we say--is still under the wrath of God, and any punishment he suffers in this life is much less than he deserves!

Can Scriptures be cited to this effect? Sure they can. And often are. Especially from Romans 3. You know the drill: "There is none righteous, no not one...All have sinned and come short of the glory of God...Whatever the Law says, it says to those under the Law, that every mouth may be stopped and all the world become guilty before God".

What do you think of this argument? It sounds pretty good to me. Except for one thing: It sounds too much like the ones used by Job's friends! Here's a sample:

Were the men right? God says they weren't!

If this weren't enough, Chapter One says plainly that Job was a good man! And in 2:3, God says to Satan,

The first answer, then is false. Some suffering is undeserved.

BAD THINGS HAPPEN TO GOOD PEOPLE BECAUSE...THE BAD THINGS ARE NOT REALLY BAD.

In one form, this is the philosophy of Christian Science. It teaches that bad things are all in your head. If you'd quit believing in sickness and death, for example, you wouldn't become sick or die.

Is this how the Book of Job sees suffering? As a mental complex? Was Job a hypochondriac? Or was he covered with boils "from the crown of his head to the souls of his feet"?

Bad things are real. Sickness is real. Loneliness is real. Fear is real. Death is real.

We all agree on this, of course. Bad things are real. But some believers say that although bad things are real, they're not really bad.

Here's a typical argument:

Like the first argument, this sounds pretty good. But again, it's precisely what Eliphaz said:

Had Eliphaz lived today, he would have cited Romans 8:28 to prove his case. The problem is, he didn't read it carefully enough. It doesn't say, "All things are good to those who love God...", but "All things work together for good..." Thus, it doesn't minimize the evil of suffering and death, but rather, magnifies the grace of God that turns even these horrible things to the good of His people.

Death is not the believer's friend; it is his "Last enemy" (cf. I Corinthians 15:26). Funerals do not celebrate life; they mourn death (John 11:35).

Bad things happen to good people. And the bad things are really bad.

BAD THINGS HAPPEN TO GOOD PEOPLE BECAUSE...GOD CAN'T DO ANYTHING ABOUT THEM.

Rabbi Kushner wrote a book making this argument. Brought up in a Jewish home, he was taught two things about God: He is Sovereign and He is good. For years, he believed both and taught them to his people.

But then his son died. If God is sovereign, He could have prevented the death. If He is good, He would have. But He didn't. Therefore, He is either not good or not sovereign. Kushner chose the goodness of God and denied His sovereignty. To his way of thinking, bad things happen to good people because God can't help it.

We have to sympathize with the Rabbi, but we can't go along with his theology. For if the Book of Job teaches anything at all, it teaches the absolute sovereignty of God.

Near the end, God appears in a tornado and declares Himself Lord of all. The God who answers to no one.

He's not come to explain things to Job. He's there to confront the man for his pride. Who does Job think he is to question a Sovereign God?

Job is not up to the challenge.

God could prevent bad things from happening to good people. But He doesn't.

BAD THINGS HAPPEN TO GOOD PEOPLE BECAUSE...GOD DOESN'T CARE.

When things are going well, this argument seems ludicrous. We know the verses, "Cast all your cares upon Him for He cares for you...In all their affliction, He was afflicted...God is love..."

But when you're suffering, this argument seems quite plausible! Men in the Bible felt this way. "How long will you forget me, O LORD, forever? "Has God forgotten to be gracious? "My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?"

Job felt this way.

Is the argument true? Do bad things happen to good people because God doesn't care? Job thought so for a time, but later he found out "The Lord is very pitiful".

THE TRUE ANSWER

I spent a lot of time on false answers. Now, let me give you the true one. You may not like it, but it's still true. You may get mad about it even, but still, it's true.

Why do bad things happen to good people? We don't know.

It's not that we haven't studied enough, but we have studied enough to know we don't know.

Review the Book of Job. In the first two chapters we have a debate going on in heaven. Satan says nobody fears God from the heart. God says "Have you considered My servant Job?" The devil replies, "Oh course he fears you because You've made him a rich man. Take away the profit motive, and he'll curse You to your face". Satan wipes out his estate, and finds Job "worshiping"

Satan is whipped. But then he goes to Plan B. "Skin for skin. A man will give anything for his life". Is that so? Let's find out: Job contracts leprosy. His wife urges him to "Curse God and die". His friends pile on. And Job retains his integrity.

That's what happens behind the scenes.

At the end of the Book, God appears to Job and--explains it all to him. Right? Wrong! He never explains Himself. Job lives 140 more years without any idea of why it all happened.

Why do bad things happen to good people? We don't know. cf. Deuteronomy 29:29.

THE UPSHOT

Here's the upshot: We don't need to know. We don't need answers. We need God.

At first glance, this isn't very satisfying. "I want answers!" you demand. But, if you think about it, this is the best answer I can give you. Half of Job's problem was trying to figure out what can't be figured out! Trying to plumb the depths of infinite wisdom. That tortures the mind like nothing else can. But humility before such Majesty frees the mind and fits the heart for adoration and worship.

OUR RESPONSE

What does God want from us? He doesn't want us to "figure things out". He wants us to trust Him, to obey Him, and to place our hope in Him.

That's what Job did.

We must do the same.

CLOSE

Why do bad things happen to good people? We don't know. We don't care to know. All we care about is the God who appoints them all and shows Himself, in the end, "Very pitiful".